How to make a development board for a child

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The life hacker shares instructions on how to make an interesting and useful toy using ordinary rubbish, glue, tools and imagination.

A developing board (or business board, from the English busy board) is needed for three reasons at once.

1. The child, playing with objects, learns to handle them correctly.
2. The child's fine motor skills develop.
3. The child goes about his business and gives the parents a rest.

Anna Ozyakova Educator-psychologist, kindergarten teacher, author of handmade toys.

Such a stand is part of the developmental environment promoted by Maria Montessori. Its meaning is that the child needs to create conditions for self-education, and then he will cope with everything himself. The business board just introduces the child to the complex and small details that are found in any home: locks, clasps, doors. When a child plays with a switch on the stand, there is no need to be afraid for his health.

First, gather your materials. It is not necessary to shop in shops for creativity, it is enough to thoroughly rummage in the pantry, in the attic or in the country house: where you have rubbish "just in case."

So, here's what comes in handy for the development board.

• Smooth surface. It can be a sheet of plywood, an old countertop or cabinet door, even an old interior door if you have somewhere to put it.
• Wooden sticks, bars. They can be sawed off from the main surface or taken out separately.
• Paints and brushes - in any case, the surface must be brightly painted.
• Window hinges, locks, chains, latches, door handles, latches. Any furniture fittings that a child can tinker with for a long time: to open and close something, move and click. Levers and switches on old instrument panels, carabiners, old telephone dials and buttons, bicycle bells, faucet valves and regular buttons will do.
• Fabric, ribbons, beads, threads, Velcro and zippers - for decorating the board and for child's activities.
• Glue (it is better to take carpentry or liquid nails) and elements for fastening parts, tools: sandpaper, a file or a jigsaw, a hammer. Remember that if you are using nails and screws, then all sharp ends must be bent or cut off.

Once you've collected everything you can fit on the board, make a plan: either lay out the items on the base in a free order, or come up with a plot. For example, ordinary houses.

When the plan is ready, process the base of the board. It should be smooth, including around the edges, to protect the child from splinters. For this, sandpaper and paint primer come in handy. The same requirements for any parts that you add to the board: they need to be cleaned and secured.

After that, the board needs to be painted. If you are in doubt about your artistic abilities, buy stickers at the nearest children's store, the board will not get any worse from this. Add new elements to the finished background.

In our example, models of houses with doors were cut out of plywood. The doors themselves are set on window hinges.

The board is created for kids, but older children can take part in the painting. Acrylic paints are used for the board in the example, but even gouache or finger paints are suitable. In this case, small children can also draw, leaving prints on the board.

When the drawing is finished, cover the board with varnish and let it dry: this way the drawings will be preserved for a long time, the child will not get dirty, and the board can be wiped and cleaned. Add whatever elements you want to place on the board. Photos and pictures can be hidden behind doors and windows.

Make a board with what you can. If you do not like carpentry work, but you sew well, make unusual toys from fabric. In our example, the clouds are zippered pockets with rain hidden inside. Colored ribbons and bead threads act as drops. The sun is a battery-powered mini-diode lamp that can be turned on by pressing. You can hang a simple flashlight to keep your child entertained by playing with the light.

The board does not have to be made in one day, add game elements gradually. The child will even be interested in an unfinished toy.

Actually, that's all. General tips, but there are no two identical boards: it all depends on your imagination and the set of toys that you have.